Sony makes 'small' cuts at Europe studios - Report

London Studio, Studio Liverpool, Evolution Studios all targeted for project cancellations as publisher puts more resources behind this year's exclusives.

Sony has a number of high-profile exclusives coming to or already released for the PlayStation 3 this year, including but not limited to Little Big Planet 2, Killzone 3, and SOCOM 4. However, it would appear as if this strong slate of first-party titles has come at the cost of certain games across Sony's European studios.

MotorStorm: Apocalypse is still slated to arrive on April 12.

UK-facing GamesIndustry.biz reports today that it has confirmed with Sony Europe that the publisher has culled projects at London Studio, Studio Liverpool, and Evolution Studios. At cause for the cancellations is Sony's desire to put more resources behind impending releases.

"It has been decided that production on a small number of projects within London Studio, Studio Liverpool, and Evolution Studios will be streamlined or closed due to a portfolio review and project prioritisation," Sony said in a statement. "This decision was made following an internal review of all games, and it was deemed that with the incredibly strong list of exclusive first-party titles coming up both this year and in the near future, resources should be reallocated to enhance those projects closer to completion."

Sony's London Studio is perhaps best known for its work on the SingStar and EyePet franchises. Studio Liverpool has most recently occupied itself with the publisher's futuristic racing franchise Wipeout. Lastly, Motorstorm has been the primary concern of Evolution Studios. Sony did not indicate which projects had been cut, nor did it say whether any staff had been let go at these locations.

However, Sony did reaffirm its commitment to its European operations, saying these development houses would continue to play a role in its World Wide Studios division.

"The affected first-party studios have been and will continue to be vital assets within the WWS family and have a history of producing genre-defining games such as MotorStorm, Wipeout, SingStar, and EyePet. This decision will have no impact on the role that our first-party studios will play in the future of all PlayStation platforms."

Sony America had not responded to a request for comment as of press time.

sony hit it big with psone, two, and psp. but this ps3 system is garbage. enjoy staying in third place (out of THREE). maybe now sony will realize that reputation alone will not carry your system. oh wait... you have a blu ray player too. lol. start making good first party games, sony. this is a gaming system and you are sucking!

with that list of games no wonder they were cut. wipeout is the same game it was 15 years ago just in hd now oh wait they made it again in 3d now:lol: and motorstorm has been made on psp a few times on ps2 and almost 3 times on ps3 all those games and the ip is only 4 years old :lol: i was just saying in another news thread last week that sony needs to cut some of their first party devs if they cant make some new good ips.. and bam here it is:P

@method115
I think they said that MGS4 is the last game to focus on Solid Snake's story. So they're open to make games starring Big Boss or Raiden or creating new characters but Solid isn't gonna be coming back as a lead, playable character

@boogiedad
I understand what you're saying, Sony is focusing on what is sure to appeal to the mainstream. But it's not just those studios receiving cuts that are feeling their approach. Franchises like SOCOM and even Killzone have been shifted to a more mainstream appeal (especially in the case of SOCOM having focus shifted to respawn). That's not to say those games are bad, they are and probably will be really good. But a lot of the things that made the game special, yet less casual-friendly/mainstream, are being changed and layers being removed.
But from Sony's standpoint, they went a while there posting high losses. They've only recently turned it around with good marketing and focusing on exclusives. It is working, but a lot of more dedicated gamers that play more than just the very popular titles (or the ones that play those titles undergoing changes), are on the wrong end of this approach.

i sold my ps3. guess i'll have to buy one back to play uncharted 3. sony focusing on top titles is a good thing i guess. I wish they could go back to the way they were when it was the ps1 and ps2. sony lost the thing about them that made them special. They stop giving unique games a chance. little big planet might seem like its something so special. but underneath all of the sheen is a boring title.i've been a gamer since my nes days. and games lost the most important components fun and originality.

@DarkNeoBahamut - what do you think closing projects will result in? I can tell you it will result in surplus staff that the employer cannot continue to afford to pay for (since the project they were working on will have lost considerable money) and hence they will loose their jobs. Project termination = job losses.

This is a gd thing because some ganes dont work anymore this list what doent sell anymore since i look at games chart every wk Eyepet and Singstar games should go because it not selling no more aslo motorstorm will go if they dont sell this one they makeing cuts what doent work for consle anymore they dont need worry about buzz pp they they left sony but if scorm 4 doe not sell sony could set chsnge there mind to let the series go. so sony can work on serious projects like LBP3

@Col-Struckin
I'm pretty sure I said the mass effect series.. I need number 1. Which will never be on PS3. Gears of War 3 is going to be the last one? How many successful exclusive IP's do you know are just dropped and never done again? I don't care what MS says this wont be the last one. It might move on to a new story/character but the overall universe will be the same.
Just like they said MGS4 would be the last one.

Sony really hates anything European. Oh well, I'm sure its not a sign of anything. I just find it sad that successful companies have there projects and money taken from them from higher ups that they probably earned themselves so other parts of the company can get richer and have a better track record.

Sony hasn't said whether staff will be let go. I hope not. Our country is a complete mess right now. The last thing we need are more job losses. I think i might move country when i finish uni. There are no jobs to come out to. We are going the same way as Ireland.

This is a good move.
And no fanboys dont seem to read anything other then the headline*SAD*
Gamespot should lower the number of thumbs down to hide the crap so the rest of us dont have to see their Idiocy.

microsoft has as many problems as sony??! not really. atleast microsoft gets exclusives and has peripherals that actually sell! also.... look at the sales. ps3 gets the bronze trophy. too bad they third out of three!

I think the next gen is going to be really exciting I can't wait to see what happens. I think whoever release a console first (Sony/360) is most likely going to win the race. I'm going with the new Microsoft system because I'm in love with The ME series and GOW series. As a company I personally hate Microsoft and would much rather support Sony.

This is a smart move by Sony. As much as I like seeing new IP's, they can only develop so many of these games while they are trying to catch Nintendo and Microsoft and make some heavy hitters. With all the recent news relating to hackers and LG, and KZ3 sales not as hot as some expected, they are smart to shed the extra weight and really focus on games that should be successful. Now let's just see if they put some of that extra cash into some marketing.

I'm BUYING MotorStorm Apocalipse day one, its a shame that pirates are making legit businesses lose profits and force resource allocation. Its also a shame that the current market of videogames has too many gamereviewers giving Call of Duty games free passes forcing many game devs to switch to trying to make fps games.
As for Wipeout I really wish they would release it on Blu Ray as I cannot afford internet access, it costs $140 bucks where I live and they refuse to just give me internet only, they want me to pay for a cable box and phone service.

why are some people here thinking sony is closing shop or something ?? lol its just some cuts to free up some money it happens all the time , this is how these big companies survive its all very cut throat but thats business for ya